Designing solar arrays to account for reduced performance from self-shading

Abstract

The goal of any solar array is to maximize energy production by increasing irradiance absorption and mitigating losses. In large-scale arrays, parallel rows of solar panels can shade adjacent rows, reducing production owing to effects known as self-shading and diffuse masking. For this work, the influence of row spacing and panel tilt angle on trade-offs between shading impact and irradiance capture is evaluated. A model that takes into account sub-module level mismatch is developed and can be applied to a wide range of geographic regions. Additionally, a method for simulating large arrays, which utilizes a lookup table of IV curves, is proposed. The table circumvents the tedious process of generating curves in real-time and allows fast power output calculations. With this method, simulation time is drastically reduced while introducing estimation error of 0.25%, as compared to full numerical approaches.

title = "Designing solar arrays to account for reduced performance from self-shading",

abstract = "The goal of any solar array is to maximize energy production by increasing irradiance absorption and mitigating losses. In large-scale arrays, parallel rows of solar panels can shade adjacent rows, reducing production owing to effects known as self-shading and diffuse masking. For this work, the influence of row spacing and panel tilt angle on trade-offs between shading impact and irradiance capture is evaluated. A model that takes into account sub-module level mismatch is developed and can be applied to a wide range of geographic regions. Additionally, a method for simulating large arrays, which utilizes a lookup table of IV curves, is proposed. The table circumvents the tedious process of generating curves in real-time and allows fast power output calculations. With this method, simulation time is drastically reduced while introducing estimation error of 0.25%, as compared to full numerical approaches.",

author = "Jason Galtieri and Krein, {Philip T}",

year = "2015",

month = mar,

day = "20",

doi = "10.1109/PECI.2015.7064935",

language = "English (US)",

series = "2015 IEEE Power and Energy Conference at Illinois, PECI 2015",

N2 - The goal of any solar array is to maximize energy production by increasing irradiance absorption and mitigating losses. In large-scale arrays, parallel rows of solar panels can shade adjacent rows, reducing production owing to effects known as self-shading and diffuse masking. For this work, the influence of row spacing and panel tilt angle on trade-offs between shading impact and irradiance capture is evaluated. A model that takes into account sub-module level mismatch is developed and can be applied to a wide range of geographic regions. Additionally, a method for simulating large arrays, which utilizes a lookup table of IV curves, is proposed. The table circumvents the tedious process of generating curves in real-time and allows fast power output calculations. With this method, simulation time is drastically reduced while introducing estimation error of 0.25%, as compared to full numerical approaches.

AB - The goal of any solar array is to maximize energy production by increasing irradiance absorption and mitigating losses. In large-scale arrays, parallel rows of solar panels can shade adjacent rows, reducing production owing to effects known as self-shading and diffuse masking. For this work, the influence of row spacing and panel tilt angle on trade-offs between shading impact and irradiance capture is evaluated. A model that takes into account sub-module level mismatch is developed and can be applied to a wide range of geographic regions. Additionally, a method for simulating large arrays, which utilizes a lookup table of IV curves, is proposed. The table circumvents the tedious process of generating curves in real-time and allows fast power output calculations. With this method, simulation time is drastically reduced while introducing estimation error of 0.25%, as compared to full numerical approaches.